Dark Waters ||| ATEEZ AU

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Jongho gasps for air as he regains his consciousness. He coughs out the water that found its way in his lungs after their ship was crushed by the mermaids. All because of stupid Mingi and his ability to never listen to Hongjoong's commands. He is completely drenched and unhappy that he almost died and his body shivers because of the cold wind. He stands up on shaking legs, ruffling his wet hair in the process.

He looks around the rocky beach the sea washed him up to, taking in the eerie quiet around him except for the sound of the waves that continue mercilessly hitting the rocks. He spots San's unconscious figure a couple feet away from him and runs towards him. His knees hit the harsh sand sending sparks of pain in his body cause of his scratched kneecaps. He searches for a pulse as Yeosang taught him and tries not to panic when he finds none.

He recalls the first aid Hongjoong helped him learn because Yeosang wouldn't stop nagging at him when he got it wrong. He has to thank him for being a pain in his ass until they were both satisfied by the results. He clasps his hands together, bringing them on San's chest. Hongjoong said to use his strength but he still holds back a bit as he presses down, counting. After reaching the thirty compressions he adjusts San's face and takes a deep breath before connecting their lips, successfully blowing air in his lungs.

He doesn't lose his spirit when San doesn't respond and instead he repeats the process once more. That's all it takes for San to violently start coughing out the water that got into his system. Jongho helps him to turn on his side and rubs his back in an encouraging manner to let everything out. It would be a lie if he said that he wasn't scared shitless while thinking that he had just lost him.

"Fuck what happened?" He groans as he stands up and looks around. Jongho takes in the dried blood at the side of San's face. He vaguely remembers seeing him being hit by one of the rails on the ship.

"Stupid Mingi, that happened. Hongjoong told him to stay away from the deck and he went out there when the mermaids were passing by. I don't know what happened but the mermaids were angered enough to destroy our ship and we almost died in the process." He confesses and watches as San's eyes open in realization.

"I remember he tried to jump in the water and I was ready to go out there to stop him but Seonghwa beat me to it. Oh my God he pushed Seonghwa in the water!" He says in disbelief while his hands go through his hair in frustration.

"Then why were the mermaids angered?" Jongho yells at him. He wasn't angry with San but with the whole situation. Add what San just told him and he wanted to punch Mingi twice now.

"I think he tried to touch one of the mermaids. It was his first time encountering one so it wasn't hard for them to charm him. He was outside the rail when Seonghwa tried to pull him in. I think one of the mermaids whispered something to him and he pushed Seonghwa in the water. After that all hell broke loose. Mingi fell in as well and I went flying, hitting my head in the process." San sighs. Was this really enough to anger the mermaids though? Just because someone tried to touch them?

Surely there were more stupid people that attempted that before. Jongho still tries to digest all the information San just told him. He refused to go up on deck as Mingi ran past him so he didn't see what San had when he and Seonghwa went after him. Shit, Seonghwa. Were both of them dead? Did the mermaids take them? Was their death quick and painless or slow and agonizing?

"Jongho, San!" Hongjoong's screaming voice brings him out of his thoughts. He sees his captain limping as he approaches them, a nasty scratch on his left leg that looks deep and is still bleeding. His face is scrunched up in pain and Jongho runs up to him in time, catching him as he trips.

"Damn Joong that's a deep injury." San breaths as he gently taps the gash on his own head and he winces. Hongjoong smiles weekly at him, trying to mask the pain and clearly failing in Jongho's opinion. He helps him sit down, a sigh of relief escaping Hongjoong's lips. San was quick to tear a piece of his shirt and press it to his wounded leg once he kneels beside him.

Before the captain has time to ask, both San and Jongho share about what the situation is and what they thought must've happened. Hongjoong wasn't surprised or angered but very confused about their words. Still he let them finish and this time Jongho didn't hide his thoughts about how much he wanted to punch Mingi.

"No you're wrong. Mingi found a pendant when we visited that abandoned island two days ago. It was a mermaid's pendant, he even showed me the body. He asked me not to say anything to the rest and I agreed. I thought it would be a terrible idea to bring that thing on the boat so Mingi could inspect it but he said that we shouldn't let this opportunity go. I think the mermaids knew we took it and came back for it. There is no way he pushed Seonghwa in the water either. There must be something that we're missing." Hongjoong holds his head feeling dizzy, the loss of blood catching up to him. Even in his bad state, he still didn't miss the wide-eyed looks both his crew members are giving him.

"That was a terrible idea on your part, not telling us when you brought that dangerous thing on board!" Jongho speaks up for both him and San who has his mouth open. Sure sometimes on one of their explorations they found things, magical or not but they always voted if they were to take them or leave them. Hongjoong looks at his hands with a guilty expression. It was his crew that got in danger after all. They were still missing five people, their status unknown.

"I know but Mingi said to trust him. I always listen to your opinions and ideas not missing anything and putting my trust in you. I didn't want him to think that I did favors to everyone except him. You know how Mingi gets. I had to keep it balanced. Clearly not one of my best choices." He groans and shakes his head in hopes to clear his thoughts and shake his headache away as well. It didn't work.

"We will discuss all that later. Now we need Yeosang to treat Hongjoong. If we had Wooyoung or Seonghwa, they could help stabilize him but if the bleeding doesn't stop soon..." San's worrying voice is all it takes for Jongho to stand up.

"Stay here." He pleads rather than commands. He knows that Hongjoong wouldn't be happy if he did. Plus he wasn't born a skillful captain like him with a strong aura that screamed leader. Jongho doesn't know why he moved without having a plan or at least an idea where to go as he steps in the woods surrounding the beach. When he feels like he has walked enough he is ready to go back, having accomplished nothing but wasting time.

"No, let me go!" He recognizes Yeosang's voice, screaming in distress and he runs following the panicked sounds his companion makes. When he finally sees him, anger rises inside him as he spots two tall figures covered in black cloaks dragging Yeosang away. He didn't look injured in any way but that did nothing to calm him down. He rushes up to the two figures without really thinking, his punches connecting every time he landed a hit.

At first both of the figures tried to fight back, circling around him and managing to hit him a couple of times as he was trying to guard himself and Yeosang against them. Yeosang jumps on one of the guy's back that managed to sneak behind Jongho and get ahold of him. The attacker throws Yeosang on the ground forcefully before turning his attention back on Jongho.

They continue exchanging hits but seeing how strong Jongho is and they retreat back. He almost goes after them but Yeosang stops him with a hand on his arm. It will be better if they don't follow them and put some distance between them. They have no idea who these people are, how they look, or how many they are.

"Your knuckles are bleeding." He tries to distract him and he succeeds. Jongho recalls that they don't have time for his petty injury and rushes them to the direction of the beach. Yeosang looks at him, confused by his behavior.

"Hongjoong is injured and San is with him. We don't know about the rest. We will have to talk once you make sure the captain is okay." He quickly informs as they speed up their pace. Jongho prays that he didn't find Yeosang too late.